english
1
general::
eat up sth
to use or take away a large part of something valuable
• A big old car like that eats up petrol., eat in
to have a meal at home rather than in a restaurant , eat away at sb
If a bad memory or feeling eats away at someone, it makes them feel more and more unhappy. , eat into sth
to use or take away a large part of something valuable, such as money or time
• The high cost of living in London is eating into my savings., eat (sth) up
[ M ]
to eat all the food that you have been given
• Be a good boy and eat up your vegetables., eat away at sth
to gradually damage or destroy something , eat out
to eat in a restaurant
• When I lived in Spain, I used to eat out all the time.
Cambridge-Phrasal Verbs
2
general::
eat
nouns
eat breakfast/lunch/dinner etc
• What time do you usually eat lunch?
adverbs
eat well
(= have enough food, or have good food )
• The people work hard, but they eat well.
eat healthily/sensibly
(= eat food that will keep you healthy )
• If you eat healthily and exercise regularly, you’ll look and feel a lot better.
eat properly
British English , eat right American English (= eat food that will keep you healthy )
• He hadn’t been eating properly and was drinking far too much.
eat hungrily
(= eat a lot quickly, because you are very hungry )
• The children ate hungrily, devouring everything on their plate.
eat sparingly
(= eat very little )
• Carter joined us for lunch, but ate sparingly, as he always did.
phrases
have something/nothing to eat
(= eat something/nothing )
• We’ll leave after we’ve had something to eat.
have enough/plenty etc to eat
• Have you had enough to eat?
have little to eat
(= not have enough food )
• The refugees had very little to eat and no clean water.
find something to eat
• I got dressed and went downstairs to find something to eat.
get something to eat
(= prepare or buy some food )
• I’m sure you can get something to eat on the train.
sb’s eating habits
(= the kinds of things they eat or drink regularly )
• The doctor asked me about my eating habits and how much I smoked.
an eating disorder
(= a mental illness which causes you to eat too much or too little )
• She described her battle with the eating disorder bulimia.
a bite to eat
(= a small meal )
• We should have time for a bite to eat before we set out.
eat like a horse
(= eat a lot )
• She eats like a horse but never puts on any weight!
eat like a bird
(= eat very little )
• Ever since she was a child, Jan had always eaten like a bird.
I couldn’t eat another thing
spoken (= used to say that you are completely full )
• Thanks, that was lovely, but I couldn’t eat another thing.
transnet.ir
3
general::
eat
to put food in your mouth and chew and swallow it:
• Experts recommend eating plenty of fruit and vegetables.
have
to eat a particular food:
• ‘What do you usually have for breakfast?’ ‘I usually just have coffee and toast.’ • We had the set meal.
feed on something
to eat a particular kind of food – used when talking about animals:
• Foxes feed on a wide range of foods including mice, birds, insects, and fruit.
consume
written to eat or drink something – used especially in scientific or technical contexts:
• Babies consume large amounts relative to their body weight.
munch (on) something
to eat something with big continuous movements of your mouth, especially when you are enjoying your food:
• He was munching on an apple. • They were sitting on a bench munching their sandwiches.
nibble (on) something
to eat something by biting off very small pieces:
• If you want a healthy snack, why not just nibble on a carrot?
pick at something
to eat only a small amount of your food because you are not hungry or do not like the food:
• Lisa was so upset that she could only pick at her food.
stuff/gorge yourself
to eat so much food that you cannot eat anything else:
• He’s always stuffing himself with cakes. • We gorged ourselves on my mother’s delicious apple tart.
slurp
to eat soup, noodles etc with a noisy sucking sound:
• In England it’s considered rude to slurp your soup, but in some countries it’s seen as a sign of enjoyment.
to eat something quickly
gobble something up/down
informal to eat something very quickly, especially because you like it very much or you are greedy:
• You’ve gobbled up all the ice-cream! • The children gobbled it down in no time.
wolf something down
informal to eat food quickly, especially because you are very hungry or in a hurry:
• The boy wolfed down everything on his plate and asked for more.
bolt something down
British English to eat food very quickly, especially because you are in a hurry:
• He bolted down his breakfast and was out of the door within 5 minutes. • You shouldn’t bolt your food down like that.
devour
especially written to eat all of something quickly because you are very hungry:
• In a very short time, the snake had devoured the whole animal.
to eat less food or stop eating
be on a diet
to be eating less or different food than normal in order to become thinner:
• No cake thanks – I’m on a diet.
fast
to not eat for a period of time, often for religious reasons:
• Muslim people fast during the month of Ramadan.
Longman-Thesaurus
4
general::
verb ADV. well We ate very well most of the time (= had lots of nice food). | healthily, properly, sensibly trying to eat more healthily He had not eaten properly for days. She doesn't eat sensibly (= doesn't eat food that is good for her). | hungrily | sparingly Barton did not feel very hungry and ate sparingly. | up Come on, eat up your lunch. VERB + EAT get yourself sth to, find sth to, have sth to Have you got anything to eat? | have enough to | try and/to Try and eat something. It will do you good. PHRASES eat and drink Go and get yourself something to eat and drink. | eat like a horse (= eat a lot) She's very thin but she eats like a horse!
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
5
general::
verb
consume:
We will eat our dinner together.
Simple Definitions
6
general::
In addition to the idioms beginning with EAT, Also see DOG EAT DOG; PROOF OF THE PUDDING IS IN THE EATING; WHAT'S EATING YOU.
American Heritage Idioms